Young Guns
by icefire-lioness
Summary: Fred has been conspicuously absent lately. When George finds out why, he is determined to change his brother's mind. But which is more important? Love or family? Does George really care either way? AU for no dead twin or one eared twin. XD Lyrics Wham!


_**Hey, sucker! What the hell's got into you? Hey, sucker! Now there's nothing you can do…  
**_

_So, Fred_._ Any reason you haven't been talking to your twin brother? Or any of your family, come to that? What the hell, man? _

George screwed up the parchment, lobbing it into the heart of the fire, and watched it burn with something akin to great delight. It was a wonder he had never become an arsonist, Fred had commented once, what with his great love of setting things on fire and then watching them burn gleefully.

Not that he'd seen Fred in a while. Not that Fred had spoken to him in a while. George rested his head in his hands, glaring at the parchment as it rolled over in the hot breeze made by the flames, curling into a delicate pink ember.

George had now started fourteen letters to Fred, but every time, there was something wrong with it, so he had had to throw it into the fire. There was a pile of grey ashes which had blown to the edge of the fireplace, a reminder of his inability to write a letter to his own brother.

He blew his cheeks out mournfully, thinking how incredibly wrong it was for someone to ignore their entire family. More importantly, to ignore him, George! How _could_ he? Twin brother? Pah. George pelted his inkwell at the fire, pretending, impotently, that it was Fred's face. The glass shattered against the back of the fireplace, ink dribbled down into the fire, and a series of troubling noises, slightly reminiscent of cannon fire, were emitted by the flames as the ink made contact.

George ignored them stridently, pretending he was on a beach, somewhere exotic, as he lay back in his chair. A cause doomed to failure from its very inception, what with the fact that a hole had just opened up in the ceiling and deposited a titanic amount of water down George's collar.

He stood up, swearing as he beat ineffectually at his back, and then threw a handful of Floo powder into the fire, waited for it to turn green, and then, still swearing vociferously, pulled his cloak over his shoulders.

"Diagon Alley," he said loudly, shivering as a drip of freezing water trickled teasingly down his spine, and then he stepped into the flames.

_**Well I hadn't seen your face around town awhile, so I greeted you, with a knowing smile, when I saw that girl upon your arm, I knew she won your heart with a fatal charm. I said "Soul Boy, let's hit the town!" I said "Soul Boy, what's with the frown?" But in return, all you could say was "Hi George, meet my fiancée!"  
**_

George walked down Diagon Alley with his hands in his pockets, his head down. He was in a brooding kind of mood, and the fact that he even knew how to brood made him worry. He was meant to be having fun, doing whatever he wanted – being young, free! Instead, he was worrying about his twin brother, who for reasons best known to himself had taken himself out of George's life.

He didn't _want_ to think about things like that, but seeing as it was Friday, the day he, Fred and Lee usually went to a club and picked up girls together – well, it was hard to forget that he and Lee were going by himself tonight.

He was bought out of his thoughts by a pretty blonde girl catching his arm with her shoulder, making him trip. He turned around, readying himself to say something suitably cutting, but was struck dumb by his brother's face.

Fred had his arm around the blonde's waist, and he was carefully not looking in George's direction. George grabbed his brother's wrist, pulling him around to face him.

"Fred?"

There was a moment's silence, while the blonde turned her gaze between the brothers, and Fred stared at the ground.

"Fred?" George repeated, shaking his brother's wrist. Fred looked up, frowning, and George stared back at him, mirror images of unease on their faces.

"Where've you been?" George asked in a low voice, trying not to look at the girl beside his brother. He had a feeling she was the cause of the trouble, and he didn't like the way she was looking at him. Like he was a particularly disgusting breed of fungus.

Fred sighed, still not looking at his brother. The blonde tugged on his other wrist, trying to make them leave, and then Fred finally looked at George.

"Hey, erm, George. Maybe you should…" he trailed off, looking awkward. George was having none of it.

"Fred? Who is she? Why haven't you been talking to us?"

Fred looked at the ground again, and the blonde tossed her head, watching the shoppers pass them in apparent boredom.

"Fred? Come on!"

Then Fred was right up at his ear, and as the blonde pulled him away he whispered "She's my fiancée."

_**Young Guns, having some fun, crazy ladies keep 'em on the run. Wise guys realize there's danger in emotional ties. See me, single and free, no tears, no fears, what I want to be. One, two, take a look at you! Death by matrimony!  
**_

George stared after his brother in shock, frozen in the tide of shoppers.

Fiancée! That was…it was…insane! Absolutely insane! Fred had always said that he would never get married, said it was stupid, said it was the last legal form of slavery and he wasn't going to have a bar of it. What was going _on_?

He shook himself, and hurried after his brother. After a few minutes, he had pushed himself through the crowd enough to reach Fred, and caught him by the arm again, ignoring the blonde girl as she scowled at him.

_**Hey sucker! What the hell's got into you? Hey sucker! Now there's nothing you can do…**_

"What the hell, Fred? I want to know what's going on. This isn't _you_! What has she done to you, man? What has she _done_?"

Fred looked uncomfortable, and didn't speak.

George shook him, hard. "For Merlin's sake, Fred! What's going _on_?!"

Fred glanced back at the blonde, who glared at him. This seemed to give Fred some courage, as he turned back to George, setting his shoulders, and said, "We were engaged last week. Her family isn't…isn't like ours. I was…uh…told to…"

George turned white with fury. "She told you not to have any contact with your family? And you _listened_ to her? Are you out of your _mind_?"

_**A married man? You're out of your head! Sleepless nights, on an H.P. bed. A daddy by the time you're twenty-one, if you're happy with a nappy then you're in for fun! But you're here, and you're there, well there's guys like you just everywhere! Looking back on the good old days? Well this young gun says CAUTION PAYS!**_

Fred was silent again; a state which he had apparently decided was the safest. Unfortunately, silence was like a red cape to a bull in George's case, and it seemed that Fred had forgotten this in his absence._**  
**_

"You are a complete dickhead if you think getting married will make you happy! Marriage is a fucking form of slavery! You said so yourself! You'll be tied to this…this…_whore_, and no, Fred, I don't think that's too harsh," he added, as Fred looked furious, "you'll be tied to her, and you'll never see your family again! That is NO FUN."

Fred glared at his brother. "Maybe I've matured, George. Maybe I don't just want fun. Maybe I want kids, a _family_."

George snorted. "Bollocks! So you give up one family for another one. Nice Fred, real nice. Good to see you have your priorities straight. Do you know how many of our old friends have gotten married recently? And do you know how many of them I see now? _None_. They are all completely cut off from their old lives, and their old friends, and you're apparently going one better by not only cutting off all that, but also your family. I'd be a bit more cautious if I were you, Fred. I really would."

_**Young Guns, having some fun, crazy ladies keep 'em on the run. Wise guys realize there's danger in emotional ties. See me, single and free, no tears, no fears, what I want to be. One, two, take a look at you! Death by matrimony!  
**_

Fred looked at the ground, biting his lip. George watched him carefully, hoping that what he had said would have an impact. Then Fred looked up again, and he looked resolved.

"I love Ana, George. It's difficult, but I do love her. So I'm…I'm willing to give up anything for her."

George glared at him, disappointment radiating from his body. His own brother chose a girl over him. What a shit day.

_**  
I remember when we had such fun and everything was fine, I remember when we used to have a good time, partners in crime. Tell me that's all in the past and I will gladly walk away, tell me that you're happy now, turning my back, nothing to say!  
"Hey tell this jerk to take a hike, there's somethin' 'bout that boy I don't like."  
"Well sugar he don't mean the things he said…"  
"Just get him outta my way, 'cause I'm seeing red. We got plans to make, we got things to buy, and you're wasting time on some creepy guy!"  
"Hey shut up chick, that's a friend of mine, just watch your mouth babe, you're out of line!"  
**_

Only one thing for it. Guilt trips always worked, and George wanted his brother back. And this 'Ana' chick seemed more trouble than she was worth. She didn't deserve his brother's love. Not for a second. The whore.

George slung his arm over Fred's shoulder, and began to paint a picture for his brother.

"Do you remember us, Fred? Remember the good times…we were the twins – we were everything! Remember the pranks, remember all the fun we had…you tell me that that is all in the past, and I will walk away right now, and never speak to you again, if that's what you want. Tell me that you are _truly_ happy right now, and I will turn my back, I won't say a word. I promise. But you have to remember us, Fred. Can you do that and still say that you never want that again? Can you?"

He watched Fred's face anxiously, while Ana did the same. Just as Fred opened his mouth, Ana burst out with "Frederick! Tell him to go away, baby! I really don't like him! He's making me upset!"

Fred turned to the blonde girl, frowning. "Well, Ana…he doesn't…he's my brother, sweetie. I can't…"

Ana's eyes narrowed, and her shrill voice rang out angrily. "I don't care, Frederick! He's a creep, and we have things to do. You shouldn't be wasting your time on him. He isn't worth it. Come on. You promised me."

Fred's eyes narrowed, and George grinned. So the stupid bint was doing all the work for him. Well done, Ana, well bloody done.

"Don't talk about my brother like that, Ana. You need to watch your mouth. That is way out of line."

Ana glared at him, her blue eyes burning.

"You promised me that your family wouldn't get in the way. So leave him, and come with me. Stop wasting your time with this pillock, you don't need him. You need me. You want to choose? Go right ahead. We all know you'll choose me in the end."

Fred glared back at her, and George leant up against a nearby wall, his arms crossed loosely.

"I think I've had enough of your ultimatums, Ana. I might see you around. Then again, I might not. I've some catching up with my family to do."

And he grabbed George, linking his arm around his brothers, and pulled him away.

George looked over his shoulder, just once, and saw Ana staring after them, her mouth slightly open, and then she was swallowed up in the crowd.

_**OoOoOohh!**_

_**GET BACK  
HANDS OFF  
GO FOR IT!  
**_


End file.
